Embodiments of the invention relate generally to an optical system, an apparatus and a method, and more particularly to an optical system, an apparatus and a method for performing flow cytometry.
An apparatus for performing flow cytometry generally counts, measures and discriminates particles in a liquid by their optical properties as they are illuminated by radiation. The particles are normally prepared by labeling them with one or more fluorescent markers. Each fluorescent marker emits radiation of a characteristic wavelength range when it is excited by the radiation. It is common to detect the forward-scattering radiation scattered from the illuminated particle to obtain one or more characteristics of the particle. Accordingly, some optical elements of the apparatus are positioned at the back side of the particles to illuminate the particles, and some optical elements of the apparatus are positioned at the front side of the particles to collect the forward-scattering radiation. The optical elements are arranged at both sides of the particles, so that the arrangement of the apparatus is not compact, which is not suitable for point-of-care applications.
It is desirable to provide an optical system, an apparatus and a method to address the above-mentioned problem.